Known terminal clamps can be inserted with plug contacts into pin contact strips in a plug-in direction. Such a plug connection can be released by pulling on the terminal clamp in the direction opposite the plug-in direction.
It is often possible to pull terminal clamps out of pin contact strips only with a great force. Because of the small dimensions of terminal clamps, it is difficult to grip the terminal clamps correctly.
Additional straps attached to the terminal clamps facilitate the gripping and extraction of the terminal clamps. The strips protrude away from the terminal clamp in the plug-in direction so they are easy to grip. These straps are usually rather long and stand out rigidly. They may cause interference and are only rarely used.
With known terminal clamps, the attachment of the straps is accomplished by ultrasonic welding of the strap to the terminal clamp. Such a welded connected is expensive, inflexible and irreversible.
FIG. 1 shows a known device 2 for pulling out a terminal clamp 10′. The terminal clamp 10′ has a cuboid housing. Plug contacts are attached to a plug side of the housing and can be inserted into a pin contact strip in a plug-in direction SR. Four walls of the housing are aligned essentially parallel to the plug-in direction SR and are connected to the plug side on each lower side. On the opposite upper sides, the four walls are connected to a visible side. The visible side is opposite the plug side. The device 2 for pulling out the terminal clamp 10′ is attached to one of the four walls.
The device 2 has a grip section 40′ and a fastening section 30′. The fastening section 30′ is welded to the terminal clamp 10′ and is in surface contact with one of the four walls of the terminal clamp 10′. Welding of the device 2 to the terminal clamp 10′ is an expensive finishing step and furthermore, the welded joint is also not readily reversible.
The device 2 is designed essentially as a rectangle with a grip section 40′ and a fastening section 30′. As a result, the grip section 40′ necessary protrudes away from the terminal clamp 10′. If several such terminal clamps 10′ are now inserted side by side into a pin contact strip or the like, then several grip sections 40′ protrude together. The protruding grip sections 40′ make it difficult to access a neighboring terminal clamp or to pull out a neighboring terminal clamp.
Another disadvantage of the known device 2 for pulling out terminal clamps 10′ is that it significantly increases the size of the terminal clamps 10′. As FIG. 1 shows, the length in the plug-in direction SR of the terminal clamp 10′ is more than doubled by the protruding grip section 40′.